You only have $20 for the week....what do you buy?

[Kimberli33]

Originally Posted by walkingwoman

Fun thread If this was truly my budget I would go to the 99 cents store for my veggies/eggs/snacks/cheese

Whole chicken on sale this week for .67 a pound=3.00
Pork chops on sale for .99 a pound =1.00
1 lb. London broil 2.00
1 pkg sausage links 1.00
1 dozen eggs 1.00
Cheese 1.00
Pkg of mushrooms 1.00
Pkg of guacamole ingredients 1.00 (not to make guac but because it comes with a variety of produce, onion, tomato, avocado, peppers)
1 pkg salad mix 1.00
1 bottle salad dressing 1.00
2 packs dry marinade 1.00
3 pkgs frozen veggies 3.00
1 pkg pork rinds 1.00
1 pkg pistashios 1.00
2 pkgs of sf jello mix 1.00

I have never seen a .99 cent store that carried anything except a few canned goods and junk food.That would be great.1/2lb of cheese here is 3.00

[walkingwoman]

Originally Posted by Kimberli33

I have never seen a .99 cent store that carried anything except a few canned goods and junk food.That would be great.1/2lb of cheese here is 3.00

Really? all the 99 cents store here carry fresh produce, lots of meat products and dairy

[24Fan]

Originally Posted by Heather150

Why is lettuce and tomatoes a waste of money? What am I missing?

For me, I meant. I don't tend to use up the lettuce/tomatoes before they spoil in my frig so I"D rather have frozen veggies.

That's all I meant by that. for MY week it's a waste of money.

[elyseelyse]

Assuming its just for my eats, and my family can spend more on themselves....


I would get:

4 (2)lts diet soda at 1 each (Market Basket) (4 total)
sale ground beef (fatty stuff) (Market Basket) 3 lbs. (6 total)
3 dozen eggs (Costco) (4.50 total)
3 lb Store brand cheese (Costco) (5.50 total)

Not what I'd want to do, but, I would get thru. Can I borrow a stick of butter from the neighbor and call that free, lol???

[elyseelyse]

Originally Posted by suzanneyea

twenty pounds of ground beef at 99 cents a pound.

where???

Do I have to drive to Canada???????????

[MarblesLongGone]

We'll see what I get... Let's see what it on sale.... Tuna has gone back down, sort of, they shrunk the cans from 6.5 oz down to 5 oz...

[disgal]

Originally Posted by walkingwoman

Really? all the 99 cents store here carry fresh produce, lots of meat products and dairy

None here either. Oh, I know what explains it! You live in Paradise! Everything is available in Paradise!

(I grew up not too far from Paradise,Pa.)

[floridagirl6]

I'm wondering where some of these great prices are! Hamburger for .99 lb, sausage for 1.00, London Broil for $2.00.

Where I live there are no dollar stores with fresh meat or produce and at the grocery store hamburger was $3.59 per pound. There was a roast for $2.99 a pound. Chicken quarters were $1.99 per pound. Wish I could find prices like some of you have!

[JerseyGardenGirl]

WOW some of you have great prices!! I don't think I've seen ground beef .99/lb in ages!

For my $20 I would buy:

1lb ground beef: $3.99
1 head romaine lettuce: $1.69
Tomatoes: $3.49
Shredded cheese X 2: $5.00
2 Gallons of Spring Water: $1.99
1 pkg of 4 Chicken Thighs: $3.29

Total: $19.45

Great thread, thanks for starting it!

[Lickrish]

30 eggs 3.50
can spinach 1.00
mushrooms 2.80
hamburger 5 lb 6.80
extra sharp cheese block 2.50
1 bags shredded cole slaw cabbage 1.35
2 diet dr pepper 2 liters (i know) 2.00

19.95

[Heather150]

Originally Posted by 24Fan

For me, I meant. I don't tend to use up the lettuce/tomatoes before they spoil in my frig so I"D rather have frozen veggies.

That's all I meant by that. for MY week it's a waste of money.

Gotcha! Have you tried those green bags for produce? My Df's mom says they really work. Just stick your lettuce and tomatoes in a bag and they last for more than a week!

Originally Posted by elyseelyse

Not what I'd want to do, but, I would get thru. Can I borrow a stick of butter from the neighbor and call that free, lol???

LOL Well assuming all low carbers have a mad stash of butter in their freezer, it's acceptable. I don't buy butter every week.

Originally Posted by MarblesLongGone

We'll see what I get... Let's see what it on sale.... Tuna has gone back down, sort of, they shrunk the cans from 6.5 oz down to 5 oz...

I know...what is up with that??? I got some 6 oz cans at CVS, at the grocery store they were 5 oz. Like we wouldn't notice!!! They sure didn't lower the price any!


Glad y'all like this. It is kinda fun, but sad in a way. What I listed, is what I bought this week for groceries. GAH! Things sure need to turn around soon!!

Luckily I'm a hoarder and I have cans of tuna, frozen meat and lots of mayo. I can survive for 2 weeks ( I hope). Yup..two weeks in a row I'll only have about $20 to spend....well, if I want to pay rent that is

[treebunny]

Originally Posted by floridagirl6

I'm wondering where some of these great prices are! Hamburger for .99 lb, sausage for 1.00, London Broil for $2.00.

Where I live there are no dollar stores with fresh meat or produce and at the grocery store hamburger was $3.59 per pound. There was a roast for $2.99 a pound. Chicken quarters were $1.99 per pound. Wish I could find prices like some of you have!

None here, either.

Eggs $2.19/doz .....

I think some of us should take the $20 in gas and carpool to where these great prices are and buy 4 weeks worth

[Madam De Leon]

I'm enjoying this thread, but need to check some prices before posting what I'd spend the $20 on in order to feed myself for a week.

[walkingwoman]

I think the stores here have had some great deals recently and that is reflected in my post. If you have a 99cents only store check and see if they carry produce, dairy, etc. for great values. I bought a pkg of 3 peppers (red, yellow, orange) for 99 cents last week and they were 2.79 a PIECE at Safeway It does pay to shop around. I also watch the prices of items and do not pay above sale prices. I stock up when the prices are low instead. Also, check your Mexican foods aisle for great prices on seasonings that come in bags instead of in containers. The savings are incredible

ETA: One more thing. When there are coupons out for things like bacon I buy a bunch on ebay and use them to stock up when there is a sale. An example of this is Farmland bacon. They had a 2.00 coupon and a few stores had a sale and the price was 1.99. I bought the coupons for 20 cents a piece. Nice deal on a pound of bacon

[Heather150]

We don't have a 99 cent store here. We have dollar stores and they just do non perishables. Lucky! I could get me some FOOD with a 99 cent store!

[Briar]

All beef. I have lots of other stuff to add to it just here in the house. I actually think I could hole up here for a month and be fine. Even low carbing it!

[MarblesLongGone]

I haven't seen a dollar store that does produce yet.... Eyes are peeled...

[HezzieLee]

bagged cole slaw for stirfry
eggs
butter
tuna
lettuce

did I forget anything?

[libbysmom]

I am going to check prices at Aldi and see what I can get for $20. The best price I have found for whole chicken is $.85/lb. at Sam's and when ground beef is on sale it is $1.99. If I found gr. beef for $.99, I would fill my entire freezer.

Love this thread!

[JustDoYou]

5 doz large eggs $.54 a dozen ($2.70)
family pack of pork chops ($6.78)
bag of boneless/skinless chicken breasts (6.99)
block of unsalted butter (1.99)
3 cans mushrooms @ .48 each (1.44)

[Elloise]

Just for comparison - before Y2K there were lots of articles out there on building up your food storage or feeding your family on like $10 a week.

This article had about 6 weeks of mix and match menus. I remember the first 2 weeks.

Week #1 -
10 lbs. rice
2 lbs. dried beans
jar of Tang (I don't remember how big)
5 lbs of shortening

Week #2
20 lbs flour
5 lbs sugar
assorted canned veggies until you used up your $10

You get the idea. The purpose was to get a few weeks ahead and then continue buying $10 worth of food each week but varying your menus and only consuming $10 worth of your food storage. I don't remember much meat on the menu.

The theory is great for disasters or Depression, but I can tell you, eating foods like this is exactly how I got so heavy in the first place. I don't remember where I saw the article. It might have been in a newsletter. I'll look for it and post the link if I can.

Aren't you glad we LC?

[Strawberry]

Rice, shortening, and Tang? Flour and Sugar?
Sounds like we'd survive as unhealthy Fatties!

[RhondasComputer]

Originally Posted by walkingwoman

I think the stores here have had some great deals recently and that is reflected in my post. If you have a 99cents only store check and see if they carry produce, dairy, etc. for great values. I bought a pkg of 3 peppers (red, yellow, orange) for 99 cents last week and they were 2.79 a PIECE at Safeway It does pay to shop around. I also watch the prices of items and do not pay above sale prices. I stock up when the prices are low instead. Also, check your Mexican foods aisle for great prices on seasonings that come in bags instead of in containers. The savings are incredible

ETA: One more thing. When there are coupons out for things like bacon I buy a bunch on ebay and use them to stock up when there is a sale. An example of this is Farmland bacon. They had a 2.00 coupon and a few stores had a sale and the price was 1.99. I bought the coupons for 20 cents a piece. Nice deal on a pound of bacon

[COLOR="Indigo"]I love the .99 cent store, Big Lots, and Grocery Outlet. I'm in CA, and our .99 cent stores have produce and cheese, and some meats (mostly sausages and hot dogs). I was kinda surprised at some of the prices of stuff in other places since people always say CA is expensive [/COLOR]

[Kazakiwi]

Ok, Here in China $20 = 137 RMB

15 eggs =9 rmb
Bacon 10 slices = 10 rmb
Pork chops x4 = 32 rmb
Cheese 250g = 39 rmb
lettuce = 1.5 rmb
cucumber = 1.2 rmb
tomatoes = 5 rmb
broccoli x 2 = 8 rmb
bok choy x 4 = 2 rmb
chicken thigh x 3 = 21 rmb
Frozen Asparagus = 8 rmb

It is doable for a healthy week.

[LJB]

I love this thread! I'm going to check the fliers online to find the specials.

[AmyJuli]

Originally Posted by elyseelyse

where???

Do I have to drive to Canada???????????

That's so funny Elyse, I was reading through this thread and wondering where everyone is finding such cheap ground beef. I was just at Market Basket yesterday and got chicken breast for $1.99/lb but 85% ground beef is $2.89/lb. How is it that ground beef is more expensive than boneless, skinless chicken breast?

[LindaSue]

Originally Posted by Heather150

Why is lettuce and tomatoes a waste of money? What am I missing?

You're not getting much nutritional value with lettuce compared to other foods such as eggs, meat, cheese or even veggies like broccoli and cauliflower. It's also not very filling. On a tight budget, I think of lettuce as more of a luxury item than a staple food. If money is tight, it might be better spent on protein than on leaves.

[AngieZ]

You people finding ground beef for .99 are so lucky.

The cheapest I got it for today was $2.79/lb!!

That's NY for ya!

[LizBeth]

Originally Posted by soon2bskinny

9lbs of ground beef at $.99lb
a bottle of ranch at $1.49
a bottle of hot sauce at $1.49
2 heads of romaince at $.99 each
$2 worth of tomatoes
a bottle of jalepeno's $1.49
little brick of cheddar cheese $2.49

= 19.84 & a week of good eats!

this sounds good!

[JustCallMeAmy]

Originally Posted by LizBeth

this sounds good!

lol my fave meals consist of hamburger meat or a cheeseburger with cheese, jalepeno's, ranch & hot sauce...and LOTS of the above! add a bit of tomato, onion and lettuce to the burger as well and OH MY!!!!!

to those asking about the $.99 ground beef...i find it ALL the time too, but i am also in Canada. it's always the regular ground beef, but since that doesn't matter to me, i don't care. when i find it for that price, i buy TONS of it and freeze it boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken wings in Canada though...not so cheap....